Love Scotland: Stories of Scotland's History and Nature

She’s one of Scotland’s most famous monarchs and continues to be the focus of huge interest today. Yes, she’s Mary, Queen of Scots – but why is it that her story has resonated for so long? In this week’s episode, Jackie sits down with writer Rosemary Goring to discuss Mary’s life and legacy. Why did the Queen love her time in Falkland Palace so much? What was it that meant she had to spend her childhood in France? And what role did she have to play in the brutal murder of her first husband? Rosemary Goring is the author of the 2022 book Homecoming: The Scottish Years of Mary, Queen of Scots (Birlinn). If you’d like more royal Scottish history, scroll back in your Love Scotland feed to our July 2021 episode on Robert the Bruce.

In this episode, Jackie is at St Abb’s Head Nature Reserve in Berwickshire to meet ranger Ciaran Hatsell. They’ll discuss bird flu in Scotland, as the UK’s worst ever avian flu outbreak leaves thousands of seabirds dead. Ciaran reveals its impact on St Abb’s Head and explains how the virus first took hold on the cliffs. Plus, Jackie asks how Ciaran and his colleagues are working behind-the-scenes to better understand the virus and protect other birds from the outbreak. For more information on how the virus is impact National Trust for Scotland sites, click here. If you come across a dead or dying bird, do not touch it. Instead, report it to DEFRA on 03459 33 55 77, and report it to a member of National Trust for Scotland staff if you’re at one of the sites. Whenever making a visit to an area affected by the virus, keep your distance from birds, use disinfectant when you arrive and when you leave, and sanitise your hands before eating, drinking, or smoking. The risk to human health is very low. For other episodes on Scotland’s bird life, scroll back through your Love Scotland feed to our “Mountain birds”, “Seabird city” and “Caring for Scotland’s environment with Jeff Waddell” episodes.

The tale of the evacuation from St Kilda in Scotland is legendary – but what of the ordinary people who had called the island home for generations? In this week’s episode, Jackie sits down with author and journalist Roger Hutchinson to unpack the final years of the archipelago’s population. She discovers the alarming death rate among St Kilda’s children, why the archipelago can be considered like Machu Picchu, and traces the rise and fall of island life that led to the 1930 evacuation. You’ll also hear about how seabirds were eaten by the islanders, the impact of war on St Kilda, and what life was really like on the UK’s most remote inhabited island.

In the first episode of the fourth series of Love Scotland, Jackie Bird sits down with historical writer Flora Fraser to discuss the life and legacy of Flora MacDonald. MacDonald is best known for her part in assisting Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s escape from Bebecula to the Isle of Skye in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. Aged just 24, and from a pro-government family, MacDonald is as unlikely a Jacobite heroine as you could imagine. And yet, her actions helped Charles evade detection and, eventually, flee to safety. These events have been immortalised by the Skye Boat Song, but despite her crucial role in Charlie’s escape, Flora is all-too-often relegated to the background. So, who really was she? What led her to take on the risky mission of smuggling Charles to Skye? And what happened in the years that followed? Flora Fraser is the author of Pretty Young Rebel: The Life of Flora MacDonald, out now (Bloomsbury). To find out more about the National Trust for Scotland’s Jacobite sites, click here. This episode of Love Scotland is produced for the National Trust for Scotland by Think and The Big Light Studio. Presenter: Jackie Bird Post-production: Brian McAlpine Producer: Cameron Angus Mackay Executive Producer: Fiona White Research: Ciaran Sneddon

This week, our host Jackie Bird heads out to Branklyn Garden to join in with its 100th birthday celebrations. The garden was created by Dorothy and John Renton, a couple who converted what was then a hillside orchard into a colourful, tropical haven, just a short walk from Perth’s city centre.  John’s design genius and Dorothy’s green-fingered talents turned this patch into what was described by the Regius, or Royal, Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as the “finest two acres of private garden in the country”.  Fifty-four years ago, the National Trust for Scotland took over care of the garden, ensuring that not only would the Rentons’ principles be maintained for future generations, but that adaptations would be made to keep the flowers as fresh as ever before. So, how does head gardener and property manager Jim Jermyn keep the garden fresh? What are the challenges of caring for a heritage garden? And what will the future hold for Branklyn?

In this episode of Love Scotland, our host Jackie Bird takes a look – and a listen – through one of Scotland’s most precious cultural archives: the Canna House collection. Gathered by Canna’s former residents John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw in the mid 20th century, the archive bulges with an array of Gaelic and Celtic songs, stories, and poetry. When united with Margaret’s not insignificant photography portfolio and the time capsule of household items, furnishings, furniture, and diaries, they tell the story of not just Canna, but of the Hebrides, Gaelic-speaking communities, and Scotland itself. Canna House is itself about to get a facelift which guarantees better and more open access to the archives for the future. While that work gets underway, Jackie finds out what lies inside the archives. What can be learned from them? How much is really stored there? And what memories have been rediscovered by Fiona Mackenzie, Canna House manager and archivist, as she prepares for the renovation project?

In this episode, our host Jackie Bird heads to the Georgian House in Edinburgh, where the finishing touches are being made to a new exhibition about the life and legacy of a man who helped to shape the city’s musical landscape.  Felix Yaniewicz’s name may not be familiar to many, but the Polish-Lithuanian composer and musician was a key player in the Georgian concert halls. Having fled revolution and political upheaval in his homeland of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, he arrived in Britain as a young musician determined to prove himself. Now, his great-great-great-great granddaughter is telling the story of his life, thanks to a chance encounter with one of his square pianos. Who really was Felix Yaniewicz? What was life like for him in Britain? And what is the legacy of his music today? For more information on the exhibition, click here. For the December concert series, click here.

Nicknamed mountain blackbirds, ring ouzels have become a rare sight in Scotland. The migrating species has seen a huge population decline in recent decades, mostly due to habitat loss. However, Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve is an outpost for population recovery, thanks to long-term conservation efforts. Our host Jackie Bird heads to Ben Lawers to meet Andrew Warwick, the site’s ranger, in search of these elusive mountain birds. As they scan the skies for ouzels, they discuss the pioneering conservation work that has helped to reverse habitat decline and offers new hope for the future. Meanwhile, we also join Andrew Painting at Mar Lodge Estate to search for another vulnerable species, the dotterel, amongst other mountain birds.

How does the National Trust for Scotland care for the many objects in its collections? Lesley Scott is one of the conservators constantly battling against environmental factors to preserve artefacts, furniture and artworks for future generations.  Jackie meets her at the House of the Binns to get a sneak peek at a major renovation project which is currently being carried out there. The 17th century home has been closed to the public since the start of the pandemic, but work is now being done to prepare it for reopening. In their conversation, they discuss how conservation work is done and what challenges must be overcome. How does modern science help a conservator? What does a renovation project involve? And what can visitors expect to see when the House of the Binns opens its doors once more? For the latest information on the House of the Binns’ reopening, visit www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/house-of-binns. 

What does the future of the National Trust for Scotland look like? To mark the launch of the Trust’s new strategy – Nature, Beauty and Heritage for Everyone – we united young eco reps with Chief Executive Phil Long. In a special episode of Love Scotland, three primary school pupils from Glasgow meet up with Phil to discuss the environment, and what can be done to protect it. Their conversation, in the city that hosted COP26 less than six months ago, touches on sustainability and what role the Trust can play in preserving Scotland’s climate and natural spaces. How will the Trust take on the challenges of climate change? What is already being done? And what can be achieved before the Trust’s centenary in 10 years’ time? To find out more about the new strategy, visit the website.  Take a listen…